Ashlee Bond (ISR) and Tangassini. Photo ©tbird/Kim Gaudry
Langley, BC — Work and play converged for Ashlee Bond in the CSI2* Qualifier, as international competition kicked off Friday at tbird in the Fort Grand Prix Arena.
Bond stepped the 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding Tangassini up to international 1.45m competition for the first time, and the chestnut proved to be a quick study, besting a 17-horse jump-off. The winning time over Colm Quinn’s (IRL) short track was 36.95 seconds.
William Martin (CAN) finished second with Ricore Courcelle (37.7s), followed by Conor Swail (IRL) and My Lady Lavista (37.98).
Tangassini, affectionately called “Hank,” was purchased from Ilan Ferder for Bond’s client Kennedy Chang at the end of 2023, and Bond has been tasked with giving the gelding experience before her student takes the reins at the end of the 2024 season. While in her job description, riding Hank hasn’t been the most arduous task on her to-do list.
“I’m getting him ready for her to take over at the end of the year, and, I’m having fun doing it,” Bond said.
“He’s very easy to ride. [He has] a lot of blood, a good mouth, [and he’s] really comfortable,” she added. “He’s a cool guy.”
Small in stature—standing under 15.2h in height—Hank passed his latest test with flying colors after jumping nationally throughout the winter in Florida. While Bond admitted that she didn’t take every risk available on course, she felt confident enough in the young horse’s capabilities to jump at angles and out of stride.
“He’s very catty and clever, and you can slice and make pretty tight rollbacks, and he’s naturally very quick,” Bond detailed. “I didn’t push him, but I just allowed him to kind of go out of his own rhythm. There were a couple of places where if I was really trying to go all out, I could have done [fewer strides]. But it was his first time doing this—it’s the biggest class he’s ever done, his first international 1.45m—and he gave me everything and pulled out the win today. I was very impressed with him.”
After growing up in California, Bond moved her operation to Wellington, FL in 2021. The Canadian Premier marks her first time back at tbird since the move.
“I haven’t been here in two years, but I am happy to be back. It’s my favorite horse show,” Bond said. “The management is top notch, and the facility is wonderful, and the footing is great. They just put the horses and the riders first, and it really shows in the quality of the show they put on.”
CSI2* Qualifier 1.45m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
1. Tangassini / Ashlee Bond / ISR / Ashlee Bond / 0/0 36.95
2. Ricore Courcelle / William Martin / CAN / Lesley Martin / 0/0 37.70
3. My Lady Lavista / Conor Swail / IRL / Cherokee Show Horses Inc. / 0/0 37.98
4. Panter JVH / Nicole Walker / CAN / Nicole Walker / 0/0 38.81
5. Christian’s Cash / Bliss Heers / USA / Bridgeside Farms LLC / 0/0 39.00
6. S&L Quatro van de Meerputhoeve / Mario Deslauriers / CAN / S&L Farms / 0/0 40.81
7. Genial de b’Neville / Mario Deslauriers / CAN / Luja LLC / 0/0 42.33
8. One Edition / James Chawke / IRL / Vanessa Mannix / 0/4 37.56
9. Luikan Q / Ben Asselin / CAN / Attache Stables / 0/4 38.4
10. Pepita vd Rollebeek / McKayla Langmeier / USA / Rafferty Farm LLC / 0/4 39.09
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